Pearl Meyer Unscripted

Today’s private equity CFO must do far more than manage the numbers. In the final episode of Season 3 of Pearl Meyer Unscripted, David Clary and Vamsi Tetali explore why the traditional “game manager” CFO profile breaks down in high-constraint environments, and how strategic CFOs balance capital discipline, liquidity management, and exit readiness—without becoming the “chief no officer.” The conversation covers CEO partnership, FP&A, operational trade-offs, leadership assessment, and what PE sponsors should look for when hiring truly value-creating CFO talent.

Early insight into leadership and organizational dynamics can uncover hidden risks, inform stronger deal decisions, and shape value creation from the start. Host David Clary is joined by Kim Kroll and Annie Czarnecki to explore why human capital is often the most under-examined—and most critical—area of private equity diligence. While firms invest heavily in financial and operational analysis, leadership capability, talent, and culture are frequently assessed too late. They discuss how early insight into these factors can challenge assumptions, improve deal decisions, and determine whether a value creation plan is truly executable.

In this episode, host David Clary is joined by Lisa Shall to explore why culture is no longer just an aspirational concept, but a governance issue. Together, they examine how culture—often framed through values and engagement—can become a source of risk when misaligned with strategy. From regulatory breaches to performance breakdowns, they discuss how cultural issues are frequently underestimated by boards and CEOs. The conversation highlights how leaders can assess culture more rigorously, recognize early warning signs, and reinforce accountability without turning oversight into overreach.

In this episode, host David Clary is joined by Jeff Lagomarsino to explore why company transformation efforts so often fail—not because of strategy, but because organizations cannot absorb the change. Together, they examine how leadership alignment, talent, incentives, and organizational dynamics—not just a business plan—determine whether transformation initiatives succeed or stall, and what it takes to ensure value creation plans are truly executable, not just aspirational.

In this episode, host David Clary is joined by Susan Sandlund to explore why volatility is no longer episodic, but persistent. Together, they examine how economic shifts, geopolitical tensions, technological disruption, and regulatory change have made uncertainty the norm rather than the exception.

In Season 3 of Unscripted, we're exploring the real conversations happening today in boardrooms and the C-suite, and the new rules and adaptations required for executive leaders to be effective. In this episode, host David Clary is joined by Peter Thies to discuss succession planning, a topic that seems to be on the minds of most company leaders, and explore the "Leadership Bench Problem" that no one wants to admit.

The SEC is undertaking a comprehensive review of its rules around disclosure for the first time in nearly two decades. What regulations might be changing and when – and how should boards be preparing for potential changes, and communicating to their investors? In our closing episode of Season 2, Mark and Aalap are joined by Deb Lifshey and Sharon Podstupka to discuss the current state of the regulatory environment, what is likely to change in the near future, and what compensation committees can be doing right now to prepare.

When unforeseen events impact the performance of a business, the compensation committee may consider whether to use discretion to adjust formulaic incentive payouts that have been affected by such events. In this episode, Mark and Aalap are joined by Greg Stoeckel to examine why discretion is used so rarely, and its role in maintaining alignment between pay and performance without undercutting the integrity of the incentive program.

Although ESG-related metrics have been around for decades, the rapid adoption of certain metrics into incentive plans is a relatively recent phenomenon. The adoption has in turn led to certain challenges – both with respect to the (often politicized) question of whether to include such metrics in incentive plans in the first place, and how to assess their relative impact. In this episode, Mark and Aalap are joined by Jan Koors to try and lower the political temperature around this topic and focus on whether and when it is appropriate to include ESG and other non-financial metrics in incentive plans.

Succession planning is increasingly prevalent on the compensation committee agenda. In this episode, Mark and Aalap are joined by their colleague (and leadership expert) Susan Sandlund to discuss the evolving role of the CEO, why CEO burnout and turnover have been increasing, what good succession planning looks like, and why boards should be thinking about succession well beyond the CEO role.

In this episode, Mark and Aalap are joined by Steve Van Putten to discuss how compensation committees are thinking about performance-based equity awards and other long-term incentive plan design trends, in light of the current macro-economic environment. Among other aspects, they touch on relative TSR, the impact of proxy advisors, and how shifts in LTI design are affecting broader equity strategies within organizations.

In the first episode of season 2 of Pearl Meyer Unscripted, co-hosts Mark Rosen and Aalap Shah speak with Matt Turner, Pearl Meyer's President of Executive Compensation, about the evolving purview of the compensation committee, and the implications of expanding governance responsibilities for the committee.

It's rare to see non-financial metrics in a long-term executive incentive plan. Is this due to a strongly held view or because it's tough to explain? In our closing episode of Season 1, Aalap and Mark explore the difficulty—and possible benefit—of this compensation plan design.

An executive incentive program based solely on financial metrics certainly aligns with the shareholder experience. When the goal is long-term value creation, does it ever make sense to introduce a non-financial metric? In this episode, Mark and Aalap say yes, sometimes.

How do you know if an executive incentive plan is delivering on the sought-after results? In this episode, Mark and Aalap dissect relative metrics (including some pitfalls with rTSR) and how correlation analysis can help pinpoint whether or not the program is aligned with the long-term value creation.

In the inaugural episode of Pearl Meyer Unscripted, managing directors Mark Rosen and Aalap Shah discuss client concerns about recently approved short- and long-term incentive plans in the context of current market volatility and a wide variety of unknowns.

There aren't many compensation committee members who would argue the fact that it's increasingly difficult to balance a true, three-year performance period with accurately targeted goals. Mark and Aalap weigh the pros and cons of various creative ideas that can take the sting out of current long-term incentive plan design challenges.

In our second episode of Pearl Meyer Unscripted, Mark and Aalap share ideas for smoothing out potential tension between the board and management around rigor of the annual incentive plan targets. They talk about various sensitivity tools and analyses that can help everyone get on the same page and turn their focus to attainment.